Feb 4, 2025
OPEC+ maintains its oil policy and disregards data from the US government.
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OPEC+ has decided to maintain its strategy of gradually increasing oil production starting in April and has excluded the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration from the resources it uses to track production and compliance with supply agreements.
During Donald Trump's first term from 2016 to 2020, there were frequent disagreements between OPEC+ and the former U.S. President, particularly when he urged the organization to boost production to offset reductions in Iranian supply due to U.S. sanctions.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has called on OPEC to increase oil output to lower prices, arguing that high prices have enabled Russia to continue its war in Ukraine.
In an online meeting on Monday, leading OPEC+ ministers confirmed the output increase plan and updated the list of consultants and agencies it relies on to monitor production, referred to as secondary sources.
"After careful analysis by the OPEC Secretariat, the Committee has replaced Rystad Energy and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) with Kpler, OilX, and ESAI in the secondary sources used for assessing crude oil production and compliance," they stated.
According to one source within OPEC+, the decision to remove EIA data was made because the agency was not providing necessary information and was not politically motivated. The U.S. government has not yet responded to a request for comment.
This meeting follows Trump's implementation of tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, which are the U.S.'s main trading partners, leading to volatility in the financial markets and some support for oil prices.
Fears regarding the effects of U.S. sanctions on Russia previously pushed oil prices to $83 a barrel on January 15, marking the highest levels since August. Although prices fell below $77 afterward, they saw an increase on Monday amid concerns over supply disruptions due to the tariffs.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, are currently reducing output by 5.85 million barrels per day (bpd), which is approximately 5.7% of global supply, in a series of agreements made since 2022.
In December, OPEC+ decided to prolong its latest round of production cuts through the first quarter of 2025, delaying the planned increase in output to April. This extension is part of a series of postponements due to weak demand and rising supply from outside the group.
According to that plan, the gradual reduction of 2.2 million bpd cuts - the most recent layer - will commence in April with a monthly increase of 138,000 bpd for the United Arab Emirates, based on calculations from Reuters.
These increases are set to continue until September 2026.
During Donald Trump's first term from 2016 to 2020, there were frequent disagreements between OPEC+ and the former U.S. President, particularly when he urged the organization to boost production to offset reductions in Iranian supply due to U.S. sanctions.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has called on OPEC to increase oil output to lower prices, arguing that high prices have enabled Russia to continue its war in Ukraine.
In an online meeting on Monday, leading OPEC+ ministers confirmed the output increase plan and updated the list of consultants and agencies it relies on to monitor production, referred to as secondary sources.
"After careful analysis by the OPEC Secretariat, the Committee has replaced Rystad Energy and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) with Kpler, OilX, and ESAI in the secondary sources used for assessing crude oil production and compliance," they stated.
According to one source within OPEC+, the decision to remove EIA data was made because the agency was not providing necessary information and was not politically motivated. The U.S. government has not yet responded to a request for comment.
This meeting follows Trump's implementation of tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, which are the U.S.'s main trading partners, leading to volatility in the financial markets and some support for oil prices.
Fears regarding the effects of U.S. sanctions on Russia previously pushed oil prices to $83 a barrel on January 15, marking the highest levels since August. Although prices fell below $77 afterward, they saw an increase on Monday amid concerns over supply disruptions due to the tariffs.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, are currently reducing output by 5.85 million barrels per day (bpd), which is approximately 5.7% of global supply, in a series of agreements made since 2022.
In December, OPEC+ decided to prolong its latest round of production cuts through the first quarter of 2025, delaying the planned increase in output to April. This extension is part of a series of postponements due to weak demand and rising supply from outside the group.
According to that plan, the gradual reduction of 2.2 million bpd cuts - the most recent layer - will commence in April with a monthly increase of 138,000 bpd for the United Arab Emirates, based on calculations from Reuters.
These increases are set to continue until September 2026.